Blog Archives - Gentle Touch Sleep Time

August 8, 2019

School Performance Impacted by Sleep

School performance is significantly impacted by the amount and quality of your child’s sleep

Nutrition, exercise, and sleep are necessary to be healthy and able to learn. If your child is falling asleep or yawning in class or while doing their homework, your child is not getting enough sleep. Other signs of inadequate sleep are grouchiness, short attention span, impulsiveness, and trouble learning. The National Sleep Foundation says our elementary school children, ages 5-12, need 10-11 hours of sleep per night. Adjust your child’s bedtime to provide the correct number of hours of sleep. School starts at a predictable time each day. Sleeping late in the morning is not an option.

The quality and quantity of sleep determine learning and retention of that learning. Clinical psychologist Reut Gruber, director of the Attention Behavior and Sleep Lab at the Douglas Research Center in Quebec, Canada, led a research team examining the sleep of children. and wrote:

“According to a study, children with reduced sleep are more likely to struggle with verbal creativity, problem solving, inhibiting their behaviour, and generally score lower on IQ tests according to current leading research. In addition, another study has shown that students who had grades of C, D, or E averaged 25 to 30 minutes less sleep per weeknight than their classmates who achieved A’s or B’s.”

The studies by Dr. Gruber research team have shown that children who do not have an adequate amount of sleep have a stronger chance of low or failing grades in school. Math and language courses require the use of memory, sequencing and reasoning; all are functions of the pre-frontal cortex of the brain which is most vulnerable to lack of sleep.

The brain needs sleep time to take the learning from the previous day and move it into long-term memory. The deep portion of the sleep cycle is required to improve the retention of learning from the previous day.

Sleep-deprived children have more difficulty controlling their emotions and impulses

We all tend to get grouchy when we are overtired. Sleep-deprived children can be emotional and impulsive leading to problems in the classroom and on the playground. Lack of sleep contributes to a short attention span. A tired child has great difficulty with making more than one attempt at a difficult task.

Academic and behavioral school performance is impacted by the child’s sleep.

My five sleep habits to help children succeed in school

1. Consistent bedtime and wake-up time

The same bedtime each night sets the body’s 24-hour rhythm. The bedtime chosen should allow the child to receive the recommended 10-11 hours of sleep per night. Most elementary school-age children need an early bedtime of 7:30 to 8 PM.

A consistent bedtime will teach the child’s body to anticipate and be ready for sleep. Make sleep a priority by making their bedtime a priority.

2. Bedtime Routine

Twenty to thirty minutes before bedtime is preparation for sleep. What happens prior to sleep has an impact on the quality of the sleep.

The blue lights from TV, pads and smartphone screens wakes the brain up. Stop all screen viewing for a minimum of 30 minutes prior to bedtime.

Plan so that dinner is finished about 2 hours prior to bedtime. Sleep is the opportunity for the digestive system to rest also. The process of digesting a big meal when going to bed will make sleep more difficult.

Avoid caffeine about six hours prior to bedtime. Caffeine tends to wake the brain up and leads to light sleep or no sleep.

Develop a routine to follow each night before bed. It might include a bath, pajamas, and reading a book together or alone.

3. Bedroom environment

Make the sleep environment very dark. Use room darkening shades or curtains to keep the room dark in the evening or early morning. Do not allow any screen devices in their bedroom as they wake up the brain and interfere with sleep. Their bedroom should be boring and look like a dark cave.

The temperature of the room should be between 67 and 72 degrees.

4. White noise

Background or white noise blocks the other sounds of your house or neighborhood which might interrupt your child’s sleep.

Place the white nosie machine about 5 feet from your child to protect their hearing. A fan can also be used for white noise.

5. Sleep is a privilege

Sleep is just as important as food for your child. Teach your child to value their sleep. Each child should look forward to sleep at the end of their day.

Have a healthy sleeping and learning school year for your children!

May 16, 2019

PostPartum Depression is Common and Normal

Postpartum depression is more prevalent than we realize. Research says that one out of five new mothers deals with some degree of it. Postpartum depression is common and normal. It is very treatable. It is OK to talk about it.

Many times the birth process and then the nursing and caring for their baby is not quite what the mother imagined. Reality rarely turns out like the envisioned picture in mom’s head during pregnancy. She could be struggling with feelings of disappointment. Life changes dramatically when the new baby arrives. Caring for a baby is non-stop for 24 hours a day, every day.

Some mothers are afraid to admit they feel sad or discouraged or inadequate following the birth of their baby. They think everyone expects them to be happy. It can feel like a huge burden to deal with those feelings while presenting a happy face to others.

Following the birth of a baby, the mother’s body goes through many adjustments. The mother is tired from the birth process and the physical job to care for the baby. Changing hormone levels affect emotions also. Add the lack of sleep at night and maybe a lack of sunshine from gloomy weather, especially during the winter months, to a new mother’s hormone changes and you have a recipe for depression.

Some, but not all of the symptoms of postpartum depression are:
sadness
hopelessness
guilt
feeling overwhelmed
becoming easily frustrated
low or no energy
inability to be comforted

If mom is having thoughts of hurting herself or the baby: seek help immediately.

Treatment for mild postpartum depression:
1.) Exposure to sunlight improves mild postpartum depression. A walk around the block improves the mood of a tired new mom. Exposing the eyes to daylight, even on a cloudy day, helps reset the body’s clock. It affects the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone. This will help the baby and mom sleep better.

2) Newborn sleep is disorganized and changes every day during the first twelve weeks. Between the short sleep times and the frequent feedings, it is challenging for mom to get the rest she needs. Encourage family members or friends to give mom an opportunity to sleep. It is much easier for her to cope when rested.

3) Support is beneficial to new moms. There is a significant decrease in postpartum depression if the mother has at least one support person in her life on a daily or weekly basis. It is helpful to find a mother and baby support group to be able to talk about all the issues of caring for a new baby or to connect with other new mothers. Many hospitals provide mother and baby support groups.

Moms, don’t be afraid to tell your support persons what your needs are. Many people want to help you but do not know how to do that. It is not a sign of weakness to ask for help. You need to be cared for so you can care for your baby. If you are feeling sadness and depression, it is not your fault. Please do not blame yourself. It is treatable.

Support people, make sure you check on how mom is feeling and watch mom for signs of stress. Ask mom, “How are you doing?” “How are you really feeling?” “It is OK to feel you can’t handle everything right now.”

If the feelings of depression continue longer than two weeks or get worse, it is important to talk to your doctor. Sometimes medication is used temporarily for the treatment of postpartum depression. You can find help where you live.

I work with families to help them get the maximum amount of sleep during those early newborn days and beyond. A baby that sleeps well is a happier baby, which leads to a well-rested and happier mother.

Helping Babies Sleep

August 16, 2018

Make Bedtime Early for Your Child

I recently had a dad tell me that he likes to keep his 4 year old son up to watch movies with him on the weekend until 11 or 12 PM.

A store employee told me about her frustration with parents in the store at 9 PM with children who are crying or running up and down the aisles yelling.

Should a child who is older than 4 months have the same bedtime as the adult? No

Each child needs their own bedtime from the age of 4 months. Children require more sleep than adults do. The growing body and brain need more hours of sleep for all the learning and development to happen.

At four months children are going to need about 14 hours of sleep per day. Three to five-year old children need 11 to 13 hours of sleep. School-age children continue to need 10 to 12 hours of sleep each night.

The early bedtime allows a child will receive the correct amount of sleep their body needs. A well-rested child is able to learn and retain that learning. Lack of sleep makes it difficult for a child to control their behavior, impulses and emotions. Sleep deprivation leads to behavior problems.

The sleep clock of a child is biologically set for an early bedtime. Sleep that is in sync with the body clock will restore and reset the body and brain. A consistent bedtime supports the body clock. The child will feel tired at bedtime and anticipate sleep. When you follow a regular routine and time for sleep the child will want to sleep rather than fighting it

Late bedtime leads to high Cortisol levels.

A late bedtime misses the body clock time when the body was preparing for sleep. The body temperature drops and chemical changes happen in the body at the correct time to sleep. If sleep does not happen when the body was preparing, the body responds by releasing Cortisol. Cortisol is a stimulant and wakes the child up. Cortisol in an overtired child looks like they “received a second wind”. They become “hyper” and tend to run around and act out of control. The child will misbehave, whine, and be irritable. Children are prone to injury because their skills and judgement are impaired while in that overtired state. Research shows lack of adequate sleep “has been associated with increased levels of impulsivity, peer victimization, and social inhibition in kindergarten children. ” The high level of cortisol makes sleep difficult for the child. Cortisol stimulants the child to stay active and moving, the opposite of going to sleep. It will cause the child to wake up frequently during the night and wake early in the morning. The elevated cortisol level interferes with sleep at every stage of the sleep process.

A chronically overtired child has a chronic high cortisol level. Depending on the extent of the over tiredness, it may take days or weeks to correct their lack of sleep. This chronic condition leads to behavior problems, learning difficulties and various health issues. Adequate sleep is not a luxury, it is a necessity.

I worked with one family with a two year old going to bed at 10 PM, waking many times during the night and refusing naps. It was challenging to talk with the parents because the child was running, jumping on furniture and making a lot of noise. I coached the parents to help their son get the sleep he desperately needed. When I returned to their house a few weeks later he seemed like a different child. This time the only interruptions were hugs from him while I was talking with his parents. Their little guy was enjoyable to be around. Correct sleep turned him into an amazing little boy.

An early bedtime leads to a happier, well-rested child.

The solution is to chose a bedtime according to the child’s age and make that bedtime consistent and a priority in your life.